KILLERS

Chapter 5

Damnus waved at me as I entered the small house we shared. As well as Damnus and I there is Yomelele and Rikki, all other assassins. Most of us are paying off debts. Yomelele has the biggest amount to pay back, she was trafficked from her island for a better life. Now she kills everyday. Rikki is the youngest, only 14. They mainly work as lookouts and witnesses to frame people for murder. Damnus is the most like me. He is the same age, 17, and is also an assassin.

Our house is old and decayed. The roof is collapsing in, and the floorboards are broken and rotten. Most of what we have is stolen. We don't have beds, just old quilts we sleep on. The rent is low, and round here nobody cares who you are and what you have done.

I sit down on a stool slowly, feeling the dried blood sticking my top to my back. Wincing, Damnus walks over to me.
"Is it bad?"
"Yeah. He gave me 50 lashes..."
"How much off?"
"500"
"Not bad..." he chuckes a towel over, "I'll go get the rest of the stuff." Slowly I pull my shirt off my back. I undo the buttons, easing my arms out next. I wrap the worn flannel around my front as Damnus comes back with the wash kit. All of us have had lashes in the past. Damnus has the most scars, he is impatient with his debt. We know how to dress wounds, and clean them. I grit my teeth as Damnus begins to dab my back with our sponge. After cleaning he lets me tie bandages around my wounds. Yomelele helps me into bed, giving me her quilt. She sleeps on a chair sometimes, watching over us. Rikki curls in the corner. They are always asleep first. I shut my eyes, blocking out the candlelight.